The Ministry of Public Security will handle the act of forging charity transfer receipts.

After the Vietnam Fatherland Front published a statement of the amount of money donated to people affected by natural disasters in the northern provinces, social media spread rumors of many individuals forging transfer receipts. On October 2, the Ministry of Public Security said it would receive and handle any reports of crimes related to this behavior from individuals and organizations.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, individuals and organizations calling for support and assistance to help people overcome difficulties caused by epidemics and natural disasters is a noble and humane gesture, in line with Vietnamese national traditions.

The mobilization, reception, distribution and use of voluntary contributions to support overcoming difficulties caused by natural disasters, epidemics, incidents; and support patients with serious illnesses have been regulated by the Government in Decree No. 93/2021/ND-CP dated October 27, 2021 (effective from December 11, 2021).

This Decree opens up a legal corridor allowing individuals to raise money for charity, clearly stipulates what participants in this activity need to do step by step, and has binding regulations to ensure transparency and avoid exploitation.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, individuals who alter transfer receipts to post on social networks to “polish” their names… are not only serious violations of social ethics but also violations of the law, such as falsifying documents and reporting false information. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation and the consequences, the person who alters the transfer information will be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution.

If the verification results of the competent authority show that the act of altering the charity money transfer receipt and posting it on social networks causes difficulties for the receiving unit, affects the statistical activities and distribution of charity money, and causes bad public opinion, the person who commits the act of creating fake information and posting false information on cyberspace will be considered for criminal prosecution for the crime of abusing democratic freedoms according to the provisions of Article 331 of the Penal Code.

In case the act of falsifying money transfer information and posting it publicly on social networks has not caused any bad consequences or negatively affected social security, order and safety, the person who provides false information about this charity money transfer will be subject to administrative sanctions according to the provisions of Article 101, Decree No. 15/2020/ND-CP with a fine of 10 - 20 million VND for organizations and a fine of 5 - 10 million VND for individuals.

Fines from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for taking advantage of social networks to commit one of the following acts: Providing or sharing fake information, false information, distorting, slandering, or insulting the reputation of agencies, organizations, or the honor and dignity of individuals...

In case an individual receives a charity money transfer on behalf of another person and edits the money transfer receipt with the purpose of appropriating property, he/she may be administratively fined from 3-5 million VND (Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP) or criminally prosecuted for the crime of abuse of trust to appropriate property as prescribed in Article 175 of the Penal Code, depending on the amount of money appropriated, he/she will be subject to different penalty frames, the highest penalty is 20 years in prison.

In case an individual belonging to an organization edits the organization's money transfer receipt to appropriate property, he/she may be administratively fined from 3-5 million VND (Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP) or criminally prosecuted for the crime of embezzlement of property as prescribed in Article 353 of the Penal Code, depending on the amount of money appropriated, he/she will be subject to different penalty frames, the highest penalty being the death penalty.

In case an individual takes advantage of natural disasters, storms and floods to actively mobilize money from individuals and organizations to appropriate, he/she may be administratively fined from 3-5 million VND (Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP) or criminally prosecuted for the crime of fraud to appropriate property as prescribed in Article 174 of the Penal Code, depending on the amount of money appropriated, he/she will be subject to different penalty frames, the highest penalty is life imprisonment.